1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to apparatuses used to protect against environmental contamination at drilling sites. In particular, the present invention relates to apparatuses designed to place a barrier between the environment and any contamination that may be created from drilling operations.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a need to prevent environmental contamination at drilling sites. Due to the dramatic increase in hydraulic fracturing—popularly known as “fracking”—currently taking place in the United States and around the world coupled with the toxic fluid used in such drilling increase the risk for contamination at drilling sites. In addition to the fracking fluid, there are large quantities of fuel, drilling mud, corrosives and flowback water present at many drilling sites. Spills of any of these liquids must be reported to regulatory agencies, and the contaminated soil and water must be remediated. To reduce the amount of contaminated soil and water and to eliminate regulatory fines, many drillers excavate the site, cover it with stone or crushed rock, place a geotextile over the crushed rock, and then loosely place a geomembrane over the surface.
Once the layers are installed at the well site, the geomembrane is pulled over earthen berms, railroad ties or corrugated pipe to form containment walls around the perimeter. The geomembrane then contains the leaks and spills for subsequent removal (e.g., by vacuum). There are problems inherent with the afore-described containment systems. Earthen berms, railroad ties and corrugated pipe do not hold the geomembrane firmly in place, causing the geomembrane to fold up or bunch which creates mounds that have to be stepped and driven over. Moreover, such items cannot be placed entirely around the perimeter of the drilling site since entryways need to be in place for trucks and equipment to get to the drilling rig and other machines at the drilling site. This further weakens the positioning of geomembrane and leads to the mounds described above. Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus that will stabilize the geomembrane to keep it from folding and bunching, while at the same time allowing vehicles and equipment to traverse containment walls that are created by the apparatus.